Stark County Dog Warden to resign Aug. 9

Stark County Dog Warden Reagan Tetreault plans to resign Aug. 9 to spend time with her family. Tetreault, who previously served as the Holmes County dog warden, was hired by commissioners in May 2010 from among 120 applicants.

The county’s first female dog warden plans to resign next month to spend more time with her children.

Reagan Tetreault, who was hired as dog warden in May 2010, notified pound employees Thursday morning of her decision to resign Aug. 9. She submitted her resignation to county commissioners earlier this week.

“I’m just going to be a mom,” Tetreault said Thursday. “There’s no hard feelings or anything bad going on at all. It’s just time to go home and be a mom.”

Tetreault, who has a 7-year-old daughter and 4-year-old son, said she’s pleased with the progress the facility has made within the past three years, particularly the hiring of its first veterinarian and its ability to decrease the number of dogs killed at the pound to its lowest rate since at least 2009.

Tetreault, the former dog warden for Holmes County, was selected as Stark County’s dog warden from among 120 applicants. She replaced former Dog Warden Evert Gibson, whom commissioners fired in January 2010. Commissioners at the time did not give a specific reason for firing Gibson, but had described the county pound as needing leadership.

INITIAL CLASH

Tetreault’s tenure as warden had a rocky start with the pound’s volunteers, who believed she wasn’t responding promptly to their concerns and didn’t have control of the pound’s unionized workers. The warden also faced heightened scrutiny in November 2010 when a family’s pet was accidentally killed due to a paperwork error and was forced to defend her decision in February 2012 to discipline — but not fire — a deputy dog warden who was seen on a YouTube video hosing a dog that later was found to be injured and eventually was euthanized.

More recently, the criticism largely has subsided. Margie Serri, president of Friends of Stark Pound who has volunteered at pound since 2005, said a big boost to the pound was the hiring of a veterinarian last August.

“We’ve made such a huge difference down here, and a lot of that is (due to) compromise on both parts (volunteers and Tetreault),” Serri said. “I hate to start over with a new warden, but I hope they find a good one.”

NEXT WARDEN

Commissioner Janet Weir Creighton expects the board to formally approve Tetreault’s resignation during its Wednesday meeting. She is sad to see Tetreault leave.

“I like Reagan. I think Reagan has implemented some things at the pound that has enhanced the care of the animals,” Creighton said. “... (but) it’s a new opportunity for us now.”

Creighton, who is one of the two Republicans on the three-member board, said the county will begin seeking a new dog warden immediately. Qualifications would include managerial experience and the ability to carry a gun and to pass a drug test. The salary likely would be the same as the $47,008 that Tetreault earns, Creighton said.